People's Party of Greece

The People's Party was a conservative and monarchist political party in Greece that was active from 1920 to 1958. The party was founded by Nationalist Party of Greece leader Dimitrios Gounaris after his return from exile in Corsica, and the party was triumphant in the 1920 Greek elections. The party failed in its promise to withdraw Greek troops from Turkey and became more entangled in Asia Minor than its Liberal Party of Greece predecessors. On 11 September 1922, Greek military leaders overthrew the government due to its responsibility to the Turkish catastrophe, and Gounaris and other leaders of the party were executed. In 1933, the party returned to power under Panagis Tsaldaris, and it played a leading part in the 1935 restoration of the monarchy under King George II of Greece. In 1946, the party achieved a huge victory in the legislative elections, and the People's Party and the Liberal Party cooperated against the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War. In 1951, the Greek Rally of Alexandros Papagos swept the elections, and a number of prominent Populists joined the new party. The once-proud party was relegated to the margins, and it merged into the National Radical Union in 1958.